Facebook knows the future is in mobile. It just isn't entirely sure what to do about it. The company has experimented with creating its own home launcher and marketing a dedicated Facebook phone, but neither found all that much success. It created a news app called Paper, which has yet to make it to Android. Then it followed up with a Snapchat clone (we got that one). Now the social giant is releasing an app that goes back to its roots. It's called Facebook Groups.

Just as Facebook splintered instant messaging off into a separate app, this does the same for groups, which have existed as a part of the social network since before high schoolers were allowed to join. With its release, users will have a single place that shines a light on these connections, though they will still be able to access them from the main mobile app and the website as well.

In Facebook Groups, the ones you frequent the most will go towards the top, and you have the ability to create new ones right from within the app. Notification controls let you determine how closely you want to follow each one, and you can tap on any group to keep up with what's happening firsthand. Or you can simply plop them onto the side of the your screen, chat heads style.

As you would expect, Facebook Groups a cross-platform experience. Today the app is available on both Google Play and iTunes.

Comments

Another app I wont install. It should all be in one and that app shouldn't be a SERVICE. Ever since they made it a service and the wakelocks killed my battery I vowed to never install it again.

Alfredo Hernández

If Facebook engineers were any good, the Facebook app would be one app. Since they suck, they have to split the applications to make them work as they should.

Ryan

That is frustrating enough on its own but the fact that they made them services when there was no reason to be (outside of the messenger app) is the deal breaker. My HTC Evo dropped to only lasting about 4 hours when they did that until I uninstalled it.

I can just use the mobile web, Facebook isnt as important as a reliable phone.

Well, their ability to make a good app that isn't a sentence of dead to your device is non-existent. Their optimisation abilities are plain horrible.

Patrick Farragher

Well Judging by the efficiency of their app(s) they actually do suck, and are not some of the best in the world. I'm not saying they don't have some great engineers, because I don't know. But I DO know that the app sucks battery life, it's a stupid idea to have messenger as a separate app and even stupider to split off groups they're all buggy and inconsistent and they manage resources poorly. They are not good at making android apps.

Sir_Brizz

Facebook isn't going back to the basics. If it was, they would put everything that matters on Facebook into one app. I still don't have messenger. I just go on the mobile web page to see my chats. In the future, every page in Facebook will be a different multi-megabyte app that end up taking all your available space. Stunburn Facebook! Another app I won't install.

Alfredo Hernández

Seems interesting, as long as it doesn't freaking drain your battery as the Facebook app does.

Alfredo Hernández

Fuck it, it uses two (yeah, you've read it right) damn services even if you disable push notifications. What a group of moronic engineers, they have.

Matt Hay

I saw that and immediately uninstalled. Idiots.

Régis Knechtel

Damn, just make the main app less resource hungry and give it back the ability to put recent feeds as default. Facebook is totally missing focus on important things.

Alfredo Hernández

They don't. Facebook evilly make post from certain pages not reach all the potential users and ask them to pay to promote their posts. Oh... you were talking about important things to the user...

A solution to making the main app less resource hungry is to separate them out into seperate apps, so that they do 1 thing, and 1 thing well.

Régis Knechtel

You can do everything Facebook does (besides chat) on Google+ app and it's light an fast. The solution is to stop putting facebook functions as services to run in background. Instagram uses GCM for notifications, it's a simple and well known solution.

MikeJwF

Facebook uses GCM for notifications as well.

Régis Knechtel

But Instagram doesn't have to run in background to use it.

Guest

Just uninstalled that shitty app and switched to mobile site. Most things you can do with the app can do at mobile site as well. And...stick to "newest post".

I'm really willing to create my own facebook client. This is getting ridiculous. A separate App for every function? Why not just make a separate app for likes, one for pokes, one for mentions, one for notifications... Seriously, why not optimize the main app and put everything in it?

Ryan

Youd better get on a patent for that idea, that way you can get licensing fees when Facebook actually does that.

haha, that is somehow a great idea. just imagine if everypart of the app was optimimzed and acted like a plugin... it would be awesome!

Jaromir

As Messenger functions are actually dormant in Facebook app (size of main app is not reduced, the function is still there but disabled by devs), and Groups puts no creativy addition to the Facebook app environment, there is no specific need for providing three hungry hungry (hippos) apps for purposes of one social network. Giving the fact that many OEMs ship their devices with Facebook preloaded and baked in as a system, non-deletable app, development of Facebook app as a all-in-one software solution is more than needed. Fragmentation is not welcome in this area.

Irfan Hamid

"Just as Facebook splintered instant messaging off into a separate app..."

Splintered off, didnt remove it from the main app, messenger notifications still messy, main app still heavy...So what exactly was the point of doing that? and now this ?

ed

Nothing but a white screen on Lollipop. *sigh*

ngyikp

Works fine for me on Nexus 4 Lollipop. Just takes a little while for it to load.

Matthew Fry

Artem, Bertel, and 154 others are using Groups.

lucke1310

Another social experiment to see how pissed off their users get by having to use 500 apps to do something that a single app could accomplish... pass

Abdoulah Soulami

Next up: Standalone Facebook wall, Facebook comment, Facebook likes !

Neto Cavalcanti

Is the same app as Facebook. Same animations, same design... It sucks! Don't follow any Android 5 guideliness.

saf1927

And the Facebook app itselfs runs even worse now on Lollipop.

maurice

i know i'm the only one here, but: finally a way to check my kinda important school groups but not procrastinate on the newsfeed.

ed

I hate my facebook newsfeed. It is mostly full of garbage. That said, I do use groups pretty regularly. I wish I could use this app.

Maskawisewin

Came here to say this. This app was made with students in mind.

yoloswag

Does not load on my N4 lollipop

ngyikp

Works fine for me on Nexus 4 Lollipop, just takes a little while for it to load.

Ray

Absolutely fucking ridiculous... and that's putting it nicely!

Facebook flat out just refuse to listen to user feedback, instead going off and developing an app for every feature already present in the main app.

Redesign the main app with a slide out nav bar - preferably Material Design style - but lets not get too far ahead of ourselves. Put each of main items in there such as News Feed, Photos, Events, Messaging, Groups, etc. Restore the News Feed to most recent by default. Stop fucking with the news feed all together. Focus on optimization/speed/simplicity. And they would have a killer app.

I just don't get where Facebook are heading with this garbage they are pushing out. Hell, I don't even think they know where they are really heading. Lets just knock up some apps, throw them out there and see what sticks.

Simps

That why I installed that piece of shit app ;)
Goodbye Farcebook

Guilherme Lima Pereira

Facetrash.

Emile’sGhost

Well aren't you clever! Did you come up with that yourself, or did your Mom help?

awall

The perfect fb app: Tinfoil for Facebook

Jaromir

Finally, next Facebook app that overlaps with the other. There should be a Vien diagram showing that a new app is just a slice of another.

Photon

More bloat and wake locks to your smartphone

raja

Lol photon with another battery related comment. I think u need a new battery man

Kostas

Well... Aren't you all overeacting!? Groups are still available via the Facebook app. It's not like it's a compulsory second app in order to use Groups (like messenger). When this happens I'm with you :)

tay

Damn it what the hell are google doing?! Why do they have hangouts separated from the google+ app? why do they have a google+ photos app?

Damn it google screw you, im uninstalling your applications and writing reviews on your apps about how difficult my life becomes because you create standalone applications that makes it easier to access those specific tasks